


Rekindle

by daphnerunning, Galiko



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 10:33:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3725542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daphnerunning/pseuds/daphnerunning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galiko/pseuds/Galiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Winter Cup. Akashi spends winter break at the Murasakibara household, and resolving their broken friendship is just the first step to getting things back on track.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rekindle

Being nervous is not Akashi Seijuurou's forte, but here he is. 

 

Winter break, fortunately, does not put him in Akita as he feared it would. Murasakibara is home, nesting with his family and many siblings. Akashi knows, because he called his mother, much to her delight, and quietly, politely asked if he could come over. 

 

"You're not just coming over. You're _staying_ over! It's been so long, Seijuurou-kun!"

 

That warm familiarity after so long shakes him, a little, and leaves him reeling and dazed like so many things have lately, after the Winter Cup. And, like during so many of those times, it has taken a so-called gentle shake from Nebuya to snap him out of his reverie and focus on the real world again. 

 

He does not like this feeling. It feels like he has just now woken up, but everything is still a little foggy, and cloudy, and strange--but all of that fades themoment he's at the gate of the Murasakibara residence, and it's…so…

 

_Weird._

 

He rings the bell, the gate opens, and he warily proceeds. Just because he called Murasakibara's mother doesn't mean the knowledge was passed on. In fact, she probably didn't. At all. She wanted it to be a surprise, Akashi could tell by the tone of her voice, and is that better, or worse? 

 

"Seijuurou-kun, helloooo!" 

 

Murasakibara An is tall, for a woman, and very warm, and when she crushes him to his chest, Akashi feels himself more or less melt, his duffle bag hitting the ground. "You've gotten so handsome," she sighs, holding him briefly at an arm's length. " _So_ handsome. And you look just like your mother…" 

 

"Thank….you--"

 

"Atsushi! Atsushi, come down from your room!" She whirls back to Akashi. "I didn't tell him you were coming. I thought it would be such a nice surprise." 

 

 _Predicted that._ Well, at least he's still always right about something. 

 

“Atsu-chin has a visitor?” There’s a delighted giggle, and a pounding on a door upstairs. “Atsu-chin, come out of your room already! You can’t stay in there forever!”

 

“Go away, Sara-chin!!”

 

Another door opens. “A visitor?” This voice is male, and deep. “Atsu-chin, get up! You can’t sleep the whole time you’re home!” A louder pounding on a door sounds, followed by another shout.

 

“Go away, Hika-chin!”

 

“Who’s coming?”

 

“Atsu-chin has a visitor!”

 

“Ehhhh? Who? Is it someone from school? Atsu-chin, get up!”

 

“I’m gonna go see, I bet it’s one of his cute school friends!”

 

“Sara-chin, you _promised_ \--”

 

“I’m being goooood, Ara-chin! I just wanna--”

 

A door slams open. “It’s probably just about school or something,” Murasakibara Atsushi’s voice says in an apathetic whine. Slow, shuffling booms sound as he moves down the stairs, hair hanging in his face, and a cluster of enormous siblings gathers around the top of the stairs. “If it’s Muro-chin, I’m still mad at--”

 

His eyes go wide, and the subtle movement of his head makes several strands of hair fall back from his face. “Ahh....Aka-chin...!”

 

"Seeeeee, this is why you should always listen to your mother and get out of bed when she calls you!" An scolds, hauling Akashi inside and lifting his (very) heavy bag as if it's nothing at all. The door slams, and Akashi is left feeling very much dwarfed in his own coat and by the eager stares of Murasakibara's siblings. _Too much of a surprise_ , he thinks, somewhat wearily.

 

"…Hello, Atsushi." Yes, this is troublingly awkward. His tongue is fumbling already, because is it Murasakibara-kun, or Atsushi, or…well, Akashi supposes it was always Atsushi in private before, so that's still fine. "It's been awhile." 

 

"Seijuurou-kun is staying over break," Murasakibara's mother firmly says, and gives Akashi a gentle shove further into the house. Somewhat hastily, he remembers his shoes. "So we're going to all be very kind and _not_ stifle him, isn't that right? Atsushi, take his bag, show him to his usual guest room."

 

"I can carry--"

 

"This son of mine needs to be put to work." 

 

"Ah." 

 

Too stunned even to protest that carrying the bag is a pain, Murasakibara shoulders it easily, jerking his head a bit to indicate that he wants Akashi to follow. “Uncle Hiroto isn’t here, is he? Aka-chin wouldn’t like sharing with him.”

 

“He’s in Korea this week,” Sara reminds him. “Atsu-chin never leaves his room anymore!”

 

“You’re noisy,” Murasakibara complains, leading Akashi down a long hall to the guest room and opening the door for him. He shuts the door behind them, knowing that otherwise everyone will be listening in--not that they think something is going to happen, but just because that’s what kind of people they all are. “Aka-chin...ah...I haven’t seen you since the Winter Cup.”

 

"I know." 

 

Akashi glances down, idly fumbling with the buttons of his coat and shrugging it off, because it's something that doesn't require looking at Murasakibara just yet. "And we didn't really…talk much then, either, did we." 

 

Well, it's now or never. Akashi sucks in a deep breath, glances behind him to make sure the door is still shut, and calmly, methodically drops himself into seiza. His hands hit the ground after that, and his forehead, immediately after, so that he's staring at carpet before it's the inside of his own eyelids. 

 

"I'm very, very sorry."

 

“Wehh?”

 

Murasakibara staggers back a step, dropping Akashi’s bag gently to the ground. This...is not something he knows how to deal with. Akashi doesn’t bow to _anyone_ , that’s a basic factor of their existence. “I, uh...Aka-chin, I don’t...I don’t know how to make my head lower than that, you know, so...”

 

"I'm not asking you to." Akashi swallows hard, and doesn't lift his own head, just to make that point clear. His fingers dig into the carpet. "I'm very sorry. For everything. Specifically, for being so cruel to you, and everyone, but to you…especially. I have no excuses, but I still selfishly have to ask one thing of you, and that's to accept my apology." 

 

There’s a heavy thump when Murasakibara’s knees hit the carpeted floor, huge hands coming to rest on Akashi’s shoulders. “Aka-chin...no, okay? You don’t need to do this.” The shock of it has startled him out of that childish way of talking, at least temporarily, and he swallows hard. “We were all different back then. I...you don’t need excuses? What do I say, I accept?” Anything to make his chest stop hurting, to get Akashi, who always has _all_ the answers, to get off of his floor.

 

Akashi sucks in a steadying breath, and nods, attempting to summon back some measure of dignity when he feels very, very vulnerable on the floor like this, and very much _not right._ Certainly, it needed to be done, but it still makes his voice lock up in his throat and his hands tremble. Every insecurity that rose to the surface courtesy of the Winter Cup? Flayed open anew.

 

He _hates that_. 

 

"…Thank you," he says quietly all the same, and Akashi slowly sits up, his hands gingerly resting on his knees. "I've been thinking about this, since the Winter Cup finals. I'm sorry if it startled you."

 

Murasakibara is quiet for a long moment, staring into space. Then, carefully, and far less elegantly than Akashi, he bends forward, pressing his head and hands to the ground. “Okay, but it was me being stubborn and a bully that made Aka-chin lose it in the first place.” 

 

His voice is a little wet, which is why it’s a good thing Akashi can’t see his face right now. “So none of this would have happened, and we’d have been still friends if I’d just gone to practice. I...I think about that a lot, Aka-chin, and I’m sorry.” He’s all splayed, inelegant limbs, sticking out awkwardly as he presses into the carpet, not a graceful package like Akashi, but maybe he’ll still be accepted if he sounds really, _really_ sorry.

 

Akashi blinks rapidly, completely thrown. "Ah…" What does he even _say_ to that? _No_ , first of all, because--"None of this was your fault," he firmly says, reflex bringing him to reach out a hand and touch Murasakibara's hair, but his fingers curl at the last second, wavering, unsure. Is that something he can still do now? That's troubling to think of. What privileges have been revoked, exactly, by the way he has acted? 

 

"I…accept what you're trying to say." Because hopefully, that will make Murasakibara stop bowing to _him_. This isn't supposed to be about that, not at all. "But it was the way I handled it, the things I did--Atsushi, please stop bowing, there's nothing you need to apologize for." Akashi's shoulders sag as he exhales a sigh. "I didn't come here to make you even more upset." 

 

Murasakibara straightens up, then sprawls back onto crossed legs, letting out a huge breath and only sniffling a little. He rubs a sleeve over his eyes and nose, then nods. “Okay. I...you know I thought Aka-chin was mad at me for like...a year.”

 

"I know. I'm sorry." Akashi grabs for his coat, pulling out a packet of tissues from the pocket, and hands over a pair of them to Murasakibara. "I still don't really…understand it. What I was doing, where my head was…I tried explaining that to my father, and he told me that while we could afford therapy, that was not an option." Akashi blinks back over at Murasakibara. "I don't think that was very reasonable, but I'm in no place to argue. I _did_ lose the Winter Cup." 

 

“We all kinda did,” Murasakibara mutters, the customary _Aka-chin’s father is an asshole_ storm gathering on his face. He takes the tissues, wiping his face with them and tucking them into his pocket for later. “The only one that didn’t is Kuro-chin. Therapy sounds even worse than basketball.”

 

"Probably. But I am trying this thing called 'self-improvement' for the upcoming new year. Reo--ah, Mibuchi-kun, Rakuzan's shooting guard, if you remember him--he has been helpful." 

 

Akashi shifts, feeling awkward and strange when he _knows_ he shouldn't around Murasakibara, of all people. The distance is still there, though--something that a mere apology won't fix. He frowns. "I'm not sure how to better make it up to you," he eventually admits. "I was…not myself, but again, I don't think that's an excuse. If it's too much for me to stay here like this, I won't. I just wanted to stop by originally, but your mother…well. She's your mother."

 

“I’m not mad.” Talking this way is exhausting, direct and serious all the time, and Murasakibara hates it. “All this is really upsetting and tiresome. I’d rather eat.” He frowns, tucking himself behind his huge folded legs. “And get my head patted. But Aka-chin hasn’t done that for a long time.” It’s probably over, he thinks, and thinking that has been the reason he didn’t get out of bed several days in a row.

 

"I…thought you didn't want me to anymore." 

 

Well, that's embarrassing and horrible, isn't it. Akashi's brow furrows. "Did my apology work like a reset?" he warily asks. "I wasn't aware it would."

 

“Games with resets are dumb,” Murasakibara says, extending his head to the side, leaning back against the guest bed. “I just want Aka-chin to be Aka-chin around me again.” He rests his elbows on his knees, half-muffling his next words. “I wanna be special to Aka-chin again.” Damn, he’s going to need those tissues again.

 

"Oh."

 

Akashi hesitates a second longer, then sighs, picking himself up and redepositing himself down next to Murasakibara. There. That was easier than he thought it would be. "You were never not special," he gently chides. "I was just focused on other things. The wrong things." He reaches up, finishing what he was going to do earlier, and petting the top of Murasakibara's head. "I brought your favorite snacks with me. That's why my bag is so heavy, most of it's for you." 

 

Murasakibara turns lightning-fast and buries his face in Akashi’s shoulder, making only a token effort not to crush him. The Akashi that spoils him, the one that pets him and says his name in that _fond_ way instead of the clipped way, that’s the one he’s cuddling with right now. “Aka-chin, I _lost_ ,” he half-sobs, only realizing now how much he’s been dreading telling Akashi about it.

 

There's a lot of tension that dissolves the second Murasakibara clings to him like that. It's so surprising that Akashi feels himself shudder as he sags into that hold, and it's less good sense, more well-remembered habit that makes his arms come around Murasakibara and hold tight. _He's even bigger and broader now, how?_

 

"I know. Me, too." It still _stings_ , more viciously than anything else Akashi knows or remembers, and he muffles a wet laugh into Murasakibara's hair. "I _hate it_. I hate it so much, Atsushi." 

 

“I _hate_ it,” Murasakibara agrees. “A-and I--I _tried_ , I really did, I tried as hard as I could--Kuro-chin got really good and I _hate_ it.”

 

There’s a hiccup, then Murasakibara forces out, “A-and I thought you’d be mad at me--or--or you’d be mad at Kuro-chin or something b-but...I couldn’t even _call_ you...”

 

 _At the time? Probably just dismissive_ is what Akashi thinks sullenly, and he silences the thought. "I wanted to call you after I lost, too…but…ah. That didn't happen."

 

Akashi sucks in a steadying breath--which just makes it harder to breath, somehow, because his throat tightens up--and draws back, enough to pull his hands to Murasakibara's face, holding it firmly enough in his grasp to make the other boy look at him. "But now you know," he quietly says. "I am _not_ mad at you. I know you tried really hard, I watched the tapes and you were amazing." 

 

Murasakibara squeezes his eyes shut, letting a few last tears escape before noisily wiping his face again. He looks at Akashi’s unwavering, compassionate gaze, and nods slowly. “At the end. It felt like...like back at Teiko. That’s the only time I played like that. I thought it was about you, before that game, but I guess...I dunno.”

 

"Mm." Akashi reaches back to pull out another tissue from his coat pocket, and keeps hold of Murasakibara's face long enough to _properly_ wipe his face clean. "I miss being able to play with you like that," he admits. "With everyone. But…with you, more than anything. Don't tell anyone that, I'm still making reparations."

 

“Aka-chin shouldn’t apologize like that to everyone,” Murasakibara warns, even as his face is dutifully cleaned. “They’ll all think they’re special too.” 

 

In his heart, Murasakibara is well aware that they _are_ all special. It had been a magical time, back when his friends were on his team, and his team was made of his friends, and no one could touch any of them.

 

"…I didn't apologize like that to anyone else, nor will I." Akashi sighs, dropping his hands back to his lap. "It's best if you don't tell anyone that, either. I'm sure they'll be jealous, or needlessly obnoxious."

 

“They’re a pain,” Murasakibara agrees without rancor. He scoots closer, enough that he can feel the warmth of Akashi through his clothes, and that makes everything better. “They started texting me again. Mostly Mido-chin sending me horoscopes and Kise-chin telling me about his new photobook. Mine-chin just replies to group messages when Momo-chin tells him to.” He’s quiet for a moment, then adds, “Kuro-chin sent me Maibou in the mail, so even if he beat me I guess he’s okay.”

 

"Shintarou occasionally agrees to online shogi matches with me, Ryouta sent me the same nonsense about his photobook, and Daiki has decided to ignore me…as per usual." 

 

Akashi's eyes lid, and he slowly rocks to the side. Murasakibara is rather akin to a large, comfortable couch, and also, very warm. He's the perfect height for his shoulder to be a headrest, even when they're sitting on the floor like this. "Tetsuya…has been polite, as always. I'm glad they're all speaking to you fairly normally, though. I know you're lonely, up in Akita."

 

“I’m also _cold_ ,” Murasakibara says frankly. His arm comes up around Akashi like it’s always meant to, and finally, it doesn’t feel weird anymore. “I only have one friend up there. And Muro-chin is weird sometimes. He punched me. I didn’t even crush him.”

 

"Well, Kyoto is hot, so that's not much better, I think." He's allowed to be petulant about it now, Akashi thinks, because Murasakibara has an arm around him and that's very much a relief. Akashi sags into that hold, nestling his way up into the other boy's side. "If he punched you, that doesn't sound very friendly." 

 

“We were losing and I was quitting.” Murasakibara shrugs, tightening his arm until Akashi is perfectly squished up against him. “Muro-chin isn’t like us. He works harder than everyone. It’s pretty gross. He cried and everything. Eh, but he brings me a lot of snacks, though.”

 

Akashi's lips purse, but he doesn't say anything. It's better not to critique Murasakibara's one supposed friend--or so he's determined from this brief conversation. At any rate, he is squished and warm and he does like that. "Please don't entertain the thought of quitting again." 

 

“Wasn’t that entertaining,” Murasakibara mutters. “I was mad.” He used to get mad a lot more. Since going to Yosen, there just hasn’t been that much to get mad about. He still isn’t sure if that’s better or worse. “Hey, Aka-chin, I heard Kyoto is really pretty. What does it look like? I wanna come look.”

 

"It's very pretty, especially in autumn. The colors are amazing. And the tofu…" Akashi's eyes glaze a little. He will miss it, even over winter break, because he absolutely has been surviving on it. " _All_ of the food is good, but the tofu is the best. You should come visit. It's about 9 hours, even by the fastest train." He _has_ looked it up. 

 

“Hehhh, that’s a really long way,” Murasakibara complains. “I’ll get Muro-chin to come with me, I went to Tokyo for him last summer.” He pokes Akashi gently in the side. “Why aren’t you fat? If there’s a lot of your favorite food around you should eat it all and get fat.”

 

"I eat it all the time, but tofu isn't going to make me fat." Akashi frowns, flipping the words around in his head a few times before he finally says, "I don't want you to bring him. I know it's a long way to come by yourself, but I'd rather just spend time with you." 

 

“Then Aka-chin should come get me from Akita,” Murasakibara says firmly, problem-solving. “It’s really far, and Aka-chin likes sitting alone in quiet places, right?”

 

 _That's literally 18 hours on a train, you can't expect me to_ \--

 

Ah, well. This is one thing he can do to make it up to Murasakibara, he supposes. It's true, sitting alone for that long sounds rather like a relief, and it isn't like he can't get a private car and simply play shogi the whole way… 

 

"All right. I'll come get you from Akita." It's as simple as that, Akashi decides. "Howcold is it, really? I'm not looking forward to that part." 

 

“They had to stop driving the cars last week,” Murasakibara says calmly. “Because they kept slipping around and there weren’t enough plows. Muro-chin makes sure I get dressed before practice and I feel like a puffy marshmallow. It’s... _really_ cold. But there are dorms and no one steals my food.”

 

"I'll come up and get you when it's _less_ cold," Akashi mutters, huddling up closer just from the mere idea of that much snow and chill. "So long as you are staying warm, though. I'm glad no one is stealing your food." He pauses, and then jealously notes, "You have gotten _so_ much taller." 

 

“My legs hurt all the time,” Murasakibara complains immediately. “I grew eight centimeters in a month last spring and they said I was lazy for not coming to practice, but it _hurts_. Hika-chin says they stop hurting like a year after you stop growing.”

 

"I've only grown twice that in three years…" Akashi gloomily notes. "Obviously, point guards don't need to be tall, but my teammates brought a trampoline to practice once and thought it would be funny to watch me dunk that way. It was, I'll admit, but the point stands that I could be taller." 

 

Murasakibara frowns. “But Aka-chin can dunk without a trampoline. I’ve seen it. And I like Aka-chin the way he’s Aka-chin sized.” He turns them a bit, resting his chin on the top of Akashi’s head. “It’s good like this, I think.”

 

"Of course I can, but they thought it was funny." Akashi's lips purse, but he settles back without sulking, courtesy of how warm Murasakibara is and how exceptional he is for cuddling. "This is good," he quietly agrees. "I missed this." 

 

“Me too.” Murasakibara exhales in relief--they’ve grown, they’ve changed, but they still fit together just like this, so nothing can be _that_ wrong--and tightens his arms. “We don’t have to stay on the floor the whole time, though. We should watch a movie or something. I’m hungry.”

 

"Now you're holding me tighter, so it's hard for me to go and get your snacks," Akashi mildly chides, and he gives one of Murasakibara's arms a light squeeze. "Is your mother fine with you just camping out in your room with me? She seemed concerned about how much you've been sleeping." 

 

Murasakibara thinks about that for a moment, and scowls. “Sara-chin and Hika-chin are gonna listen in. Ara-chin has a job, so he’s gone a lot at least, and Kei-chin got married last year, so he’s with Kana-chin now at their house. But...yeah. Aka-chin should stay in my room.” He feels compelled to add, “I’m not always _sleeping_. Sometimes I’m eating and I just don’t wanna share.”

 

"All right, then we'll move there. Don't worry, you don't have to share with me, I brought all the snacks for you." Akashi tilts his head back, blinking up at Murasakibara. "But you _do_ have to let me go." 

 

“Don’t wanna,” Murasakibara says rebelliously, but he lets go nonetheless, climbing to his feet with a groan of protest. He tosses the bag over his shoulder as if it weighs nothing, wrapping an arm around Akashi briefly in a half-hug. “I can’t believe Aka-chin came all the way here. With this many snacks.”

 

"Yes, well. I needed to know how you were doing, and to apologize," Akashi says as if it's obvious, and briefly clings to Murasakibara's shoulder, dangling a little when he's hugged. No matter what, Murasakibara tends to lift him up without realizing it, which could be a _worse_ thing to happen. "I don't think you're being taken care of in Akita," he mutters underneath his breath. "If only you were closer." 

 

“Aka-chin, you could come to Yosen.” It’s something Murasakibara had wanted to offer a long time ago--but things hadn’t been good between them back then. It would have been weird. It might still be weird, but he doesn’t _think_ it is. “You would look cute in big coats.”

 

"It's too cold for me in Akita, and my father would never allow it," Akashi seamlessly declines, and he takes Murasakibara's hand, leading him out of the room. He remembers where Murasakibara's room is, which is a relief. It's been so long that he's sure he must have forgotten, or it's gotten mixed up in his mind, like so many other things. "You should come to Rakuzan. The food is very good." 

 

“Is it?” That’s a powerful consideration. His room has changed quite a bit, mostly to the tune of which bands’ posters are plastered on the wall, and the fact that there aren’t nearly as many wrappers on the floor. Instead, there’s a kitchen-sized trash can now installed, and no wrappers scattered around the floor. It isn’t as if he often misses inside shots. “Yosen has a chef from France, so that’s pretty cool.”

 

"Well…I suppose I should say, _Kyoto's_ food is very good," Akashi relents, plopping down onto the side of Murasakibara's bed--as Western as always, which is somewhat of an adjustment. "I've been told that I'm picky. Am I picky?" The thought is troubling. 

 

“I dunno.” Murasakibara flops down on the bed, then tugs Akashi unthinkingly down next to him, assigning himself Big Spoon status in record time. “Aka-chin likes what Aka-chin likes. It’s okay if you don’t like seaweed. I won’t cook that for you.”

 

This…this is very good. Murasakibara is even warmer like this, and much easier to nestle back up against. Akashi is fairly certain he's just going to live like this now, forever. "I don't like seaweed," Akashi begrudgingly acknowledges, which is apparently Weird by all standards of his teammates at Rakuzan, even though it was _never_ an issue with anyone at Teikou. He curls up, fitting with remarkable ease against Murasakibara's chest, and reaches for one of the other boy's hands to hold. 

 

That simple gesture, of just taking his hand, steals Murasakibara’s breath for a second. What shocks him is how _normal_ it feels--they’ve been like this a hundred times, at one house or another. But those times have been gone for a while now, and Murasakibara has resolutely convinced himself that he does not miss them.

 

At least, he’d tried.

 

His hand is vastly larger, but he curls it gently around Akashi’s, cradling it like something precious. “Aka-chin,” he asks softly, “is he still there? The other you? Like....underneath?”

 

"…I think so. That's scary, isn't it?" 

 

That admission escapes before he can think to curb it. He's Akashi Seijuurou, and _nothing_ is supposed to be scary. _He's_ the frightening one, that's plain-stated fact. His fingers twitch, curling underneath Murasakibara's. "I still don't feel…okay," he admits. "I know everything is just supposed to go back to normal, and I suppose a lot of things have, but…it's scary, to think if I push too hard, something like that could happen again. So a lot of the time, I just feel sort of weird."

 

“Was it me?” Murasakibara _has_ to ask, even if he really doesn’t want to hear the answer. He buries his face in Akashi’s hair, mumbling, “It didn’t happen when Kuro-chin won, right? So...maybe it’s just me that’s the problem.”

 

"Of course it wasn't _you_." Akashi exhales a long sigh, twisting his head partially and letting his forehead knock against Murasakibara's. "It was…how should I put it. You were the straw the broke the camel's back, but not the cause, never that." His gaze flicks briefly sideways. "It hurt more, when you wanted to go against me like that, but…that was because I was already stressed, and I've been told I play favorites." 

 

“Aka-chin has the things he likes and the things he doesn’t,” Murasakibara says with a sigh. “I’ll try not to crush your back again, okay? And I won’t play with Yosen when we go against Rakuzan.”

 

"That's not the same, though. You can play against me like that, it was just not good when you decided you wanted to start skipping practice like _Aomine Daiki_." Akashi might have growled a little. Either way, he huddles back up against Murasakibara's chest all the more. "You're better than that." 

 

“I’m better than _him_ ,” Murasakibara mutters, eyes narrowing. “If I felt like it. I’d beat him in a one-on-one. So it was stupid that he got to skip and I didn’t.” Even after seeing all the torment his stubbornness had wrought, Murasakibara doesn’t exactly think he was _wrong_ back then. “Aka-chin, I could beat Mine-chin. I could. If I felt like it.”

 

Akashi groans and pulls his hand away to stuff it over Murasakibara's face. Very undignified, but they are alone and he doesn't care. "Don't. Don't start. _Please_ don't start. That drives me crazy and makes my head hurt and I don't want to think about him, _or_ that whole situation."

 

Murasakibara grins, rubbing his face against that hand, then licks it for good measure. “I _could_ , though. You didn’t say I couldn’t. And he won’t fight me. So I could. I could have crushed Kuro-chin too, he just brought a lot of really annoying friends. Aka-chin, you taste good.”

 

Akashi is, notably, unfazed. "I _know_ you could, that's a given. No, you know what would be satisfying? Crushing Daiki and Tetsuya and that Kagami Taiga _thing_ all at once--honestly, all I need is you, and Shintarou…" Akashi's eyes glaze briefly, the thought a _very_ nice one. "Anyway. I can't possibly taste good, don't lick me like I'm one of your snacks." 

 

“Aka-chin is wrong.” No, Akashi hates hearing that. Murasakibara changes his tune slightly. “I mean, he’s right...but Aka-chin _does_ taste good.” Nailed it.

 

"That doesn't even make sense," Akashi says with a sigh, withdrawing his hand. "Now you're just trying too hard." 

 

“Yeah, it’s a lot of work,” Murasakibara agrees, and reaches over Akashi to dig in the bag, grabbing the first bag he finds--ooh, _nice_. “Ahhh, Aka-chin remembered, I like the soy sauce and butter flavor.”

 

"Of course I remembered," Akashi grouses, already prepared to have chip crumbs in his hair. "I remember every single one of your favorites. This is why I know you aren't being cared for properly up in Akita, no one else can possibly remember that many." 

 

“Muro-chin just buys whatever he sees first and tells me it’s my favorite, because he thinks I’m gonna forget,” Murasakibara confirms, crunching his way through the first handful and only dropping a few crumbs in Akashi’s hair. “He told me one time when he was being really weird, falling down and trying to kiss me and stuff. I think he had a fever.”

 

"More like he was drunk. Classless." Akashi frowns at that, unhappier with hearing about _this_ particular turn of events by the second. "He clearly thinks you're an idiot. I hope you didn't humor him and let him…do anything." 

 

“I’m not gonna let him buy the shrimp and red pepper chips again,” Murasakibara says forcefully. He stuffs more chips in his mouth at that thought, as if he can banish the taste with enough soy sauce and butter. “That’s for _sure_.”

 

"Well…that's good, but I was talking more about what he did when he was drunk." Hah, he's not jealous. Akashi Seijuurou is not a jealous person. He is…definitely…not pouting about it. 

 

He is. Absolutely. Damn it, Mibuchi would be having a _field day._  

 

“He _did_ taste like cooking sake.” The words come out slowly as Murasakibara turns that night over in his memory. “I thought it might be medicine. For the fever. He was really red in the face and hot to the touch. Heh. Muro-chin was drunk, that’s funny.”

 

"It's not funny, it's definitely classless," Akashi mutters, his pout gradually increasing. He stares through his bangs--growing out, thankfully, what had he been _thinking_ \--and wonders if they are to blame for this, too. Maybe, if his hair had still been acceptable……….no, that's stupid. "So. You kissed him. Congratulations." 

 

“Aka-chin...do I get a congratulations every time I kiss someone?” Murasakibara asks seriously. “Oh...” He frowns as something suddenly occurs to him, though his hand doesn’t stop delivering chips to his mouth. “Okay, a few of the guys at Yosen have definitely been drunk. Aw, man, they said they had fevers. They’re having fun _without me._ Why? I’m fun, Aka-chin.”

 

"I know you're fun, you don't have to remind me." Being jealous is _tiring_. It's not something he's well-equipped to deal with, having rarely wanted for anything, and with the scramble that his mind constantly feels like it's in lately, he's unsure of how to even begin tackling it. For now, Akashi resigns himself to having chips in his hair, and reaching off the bed to grab his phone and resume an online shogi game to soothe his nerves. The application glows to life on his phone's screen, and the first move he makes is a poor one. He scowls. "I hope he at least had the decency to kiss you in private. You _know_ that he could get you in trouble." 

 

“Hmm...” Murasakibara takes a long minute to think. Where had that even been? It was after the big game, wasn’t it? Of course, but...hmm. “Yeah,” he says at last, having located the memory as he chews. “I took him back to his room. The door was shut and everything. It was nice.”

 

"Did he just kiss you? Or what?" Oh, now he's fishing. That's just grand. _This is not charming,_ Akashi reminds himself, just shy of horrified at the irritation already creeping into his voice. 

 

“Huh?” Murasakibara props himself up on one elbow, frowning down at Akashi as he absently brushes some crumbs out of his hair. “I said he did, right?” This is getting into dangerous territory, he knows. _Just keep eating chips, it won’t get weird if I just keep eating chips, why did I have to bring that up? Shit shit shit..._

 

"I'm asking if he did anything else. If you _two_ did anything else." Akashi frowns harder at his phone--yes, that's definitely what he's frowning about--and flips to another game that he's in the middle of, because the other one is probably ruined. That happens often lately, and he will never admit it. "It's probably rude of me to ask. Never mind." 

 

Another seven chips meet a swift pulverization by Murasakibara’s teeth. “Okay.” If Akashi is willing to let it go, he’ll let it go. Way more important is the fact that they’re still snuggled up together. “Aka-chin, I dunno how you can play shogi on such a tiny screen.”

 

"Not very easily, but needs must." _Just let it go, just let it go, just let it go_ \--"You know, if he gets you into trouble, there's a good chance you could both be thrown off the basketball team." 

 

“Eh? I dunno. I’m really good at basketball. They didn’t kick me off when that dumb second-year said we got in a fight. I didn’t get in a fight, Aka-chin,” Murasakibara says seriously. “He called me a gorilla and said I was a freak. I crushed him a little. That’s not a fight.”

 

"Atsushi. You _know_ what I'm talking about, and if he's chasing after you when he's drunk, then he obviously knows what he's doing, too." 

 

It’s very unfortunate that Akashi is really good at telling when he doesn’t know something and when he’s just...avoiding, the word probably is. “Muro-chin doesn’t want to get in trouble either,” he murmurs, hoping that puts an end to it. “So he isn’t gonna do anything where people can see. He says Japanese people are weird about it.”

 

"…Even if Japanese people are, him getting drunk and kissing you isn't being careful." 

 

Three moves in, and the game is lost, he can tell. Akashi's fingers shake, and he closes out of the game before he can go even further down that rabbit hole. "Are you dating him?" He has given up, and asking outright is the only thing he knows how to do now.

 

“Nope.” At least on that front, Murasakibara has an incredibly clear and firm answer. “Muro-chin would be a really bad boyfriend. I think I would too. It sounds like way too much work.” 

 

There’s a nagging question in his mind. As long as they’re being blunt, he supposes, he might be able to get away with asking. “Aka-chin. Are you being protective or jealous?”

 

Akashi reminds himself that _he_ opened this can of worms. This is his fault, on several different levels. 

 

That doesn't make it easier to answer, but at least it's a relief to know that Murasakibara isn't _dating_ that classless little...

 

He fiddles with his phone for another few seconds, an unfortunate mix of nervous and embarrassed. Mibuchi would be on the floor, dying. Damn it. "…Both, I think."

 

“Ah.” Murasakibara brushes more crumbs out of Akashi’s hair, and tosses the empty chip bag neatly into the trash can. Its lack of aerodynamic properties is more than canceled out by how much practice he has in tossing empty snack bags. He tucks his arms around Akashi, tugging him back tight. “Ahhh, talking like this is annoying. Aka-chin has a girlfriend, right?”

 

"No, I don't." A few crumbs fall on his face, and Akashi is grateful for the task of brushing them off as well. It's something to do that isn't awkwardly clinging to his phone or counting the thumbtacks in Murasakibara's walls. "Not…strictly speaking. I have a fiancé. That's different." 

 

“I forgot her name.” He’d met her, once. He’s pretty sure all he remembers is that she’s a girl, and pretty normal-looking. “Did she get less boring?”

 

"Hanako. And no, not really," Akashi wearily admits, and his head thunks heavily back against Murasakibara's chest. To be fair, he's only seen her once in the past year. It was not stimulating. "Her hair is longer…so that's something new…" 

 

“My hair got longer too.” That’s an important point to make, Murasakibara thinks. “It would be even longer, but Mom made me cut it. She said I was gonna look like a host or a rock star. But wouldn’t that be cool?”

 

"Mm, but you have to make sure to tie it back when you play, or it'll end up being a nuisance." Impulse brings Akashi to lift up a hand, blindly catching hold of a few strands of Murasakibara's hair that falls forward over his shoulders. "I get confessions all the time at school, that hasn't changed. It's still very annoying, I never know what to say. I don't want a girlfriend." 

 

“You can tell them you have a fiancee,” Murasakibara suggests. His hand curls and uncurls on Akashi’s leg, slowly kneading into the firm flesh as gently as his instincts allow. “Sara-chin punched a guy in the face once for asking her out when he had a fiancee. It works. Girls don’t like it at all.”

 

"That works…sometimes," Akashi allows, hesitation in his voice when he is now distracted. His eyes flick downward, at the splay of Murasakibara's fingers over his leg, and makes a point to not stare for too long. "Sometimes, girls don't care. They don't mind being someone 'on the side', as I've heard them put it…" 

 

Murasakibara nearly asks which side, and then his mind actually engages instead of just toodling along in the background between meals. Right. “Aka-chin is ready to have affairs before he’s even married, hmm?”

 

"It's not affairs if we aren't really _dating_ or anywhere close to being married," Akashi defensively grouses. "I--you know, I'm fun, too." 

 

Murasakibara buries his face in Akashi’s hair, squeezing tighter without meaning to. “Aka-chin is so cute. I’ll crush anyone that says you aren’t fun.”

 

"That's really not necessary--Atsushi, you are _so_ strong," Akashi huffs, giving the other boy's hair a firm tug as reprimand. "I am _not_ cute, I am very intimidating, but that doesn't mean that I can't be fun." 

 

Reluctantly, and certainly not because of the tug to his hair, Murasakibara relents. “Aka-chin is fun because he’s cute, though. It’s not like you play games. I mean, not for fun. And if you do, no one else is allowed to win. So _that’s_ not fun. But it’s nice when you bring me food.”

 

"It's not that anyone else isn't allowed to win, it's just that I'm _going_ to win. It's inevitable." He is now pouting. That is not supposed to be inevitable, but that is what is happening. "Anyway. The point of this conversation is that girls aren't very interesting, and I don't want a girlfriend. In high school, have you ever had boys confess to you, too? Your friend that kissed you when he was drunk doesn't count." 

 

“He kisses me other times, too,” Murasakibara says lightly, and reaches over to grab an absurdly long chocolate bar. “Ahh, you remembered the kind with the little matcha chips in it, yay. I dunno, I get letters sometimes. Usually not face to face.”

 

Ah. Now he is annoyed, because that confirms everything that Akashi _doesn't_ want to know…but needed to know. "He kisses you all the time, but you aren't dating him." 

 

“Yeah, I guess.” Murasakibara rarely struggles with wrappers, but some chocolates seem designed to keep him out, which he finds rather rude. The small tabs on the end finally give, and he nods in satisfaction, stuffing the first square into his mouth in an explosion of smoky-sweet flavor. “Ohh, this has gotten better. Or I’m hungry.”

 

Akashi weighs his options. 

 

He can continue this game. He can keep poking and prodding for information and getting more annoyed for reasons that he doesn't rightfully grasp, or he can play another side of the game, which is to boast that he, too, has a very attractive shooting guard interested in him--

 

But those games are pointless against Murasakibara (it just makes them both angry and more upset), and not what he wants, besides. 

 

"Atsushi." Akashi twists in his grasp, turning around to better face him, his brow furrowed. "I don't want you to keep kissing him." 

 

Murasakibara stops mid-chew, slowly blinking his eyes and trying to process that. “Huh.”

 

He curls a hand around the chocolate bar more firmly, as if it’s going to be taken away if he misbehaves--which, in all fairness, has happened with Akashi in the past. “Do I have to stop?”

 

"I would really like you to." 

 

An unhappy look steals over Murasakibara’s face. He swallows, and the chocolate doesn’t go down as easily as the previous bite had. _If I defy him again...his eye might turn back._ “I guess I won’t, then.”

 

The expression on Murasakibara's face doesn't go unnoticed, and Akashi exhales a slow, even breath. "I should make myself more clear. This isn't something I'm asking you to do arbitrarily." 

 

Now isn't the time to hesitate, or be nervous, but it just so happens that it lines up that way. Akashi's fingers curl briefly into his own palm before he reaches up, catching a handful of Murasakibara's hair again in his grasp, and he tugs, just enough to get him away from that chocolate bar and closer to his own lips. "This is why I don't want a girlfriend, and why I don't want you to kiss him," he mutters, and before the last of his _apparently_ fleeting nerve is lost, Akashi leans up and kisses him.

 

Murasakibara quickly rethinks whether he’s actually been paying attention to this conversation to the correct degree, and is forced to realize that he probably has not, because this didn’t even _occur_ to him.

 

It’s...nice, though.

 

Akashi’s lips are slender, soft, and elegant. Murasakibara leans down into that, his head bending to bring them closer together as he sucks in a breath through his nose. Akashi tastes better this way than he ever has any other time Murasakibara has licked or nibbled his hand or shoulder, which is a good sign, as far as he’s concerned. Good things taste good.

 

_Oh, thank God._

 

Akashi isn't sure when he started to doubt himself so much, but it has become increasingly an issue since the Winter Cup. It's why he wasn't sure how well this would go, if he would end up on the floor after being shoved away, if his apology wasn't enough, if, if, if--

 

But it's enough, apparently, and _he_ is enough, and this is the reaction he _needs_. 

 

His fingers slide up deeper into Murasakibara's hair as he surges up, lips parted and tongue tasting chocolate and salt, which is an _oddly_ good combination. He doesn't mean to cling, not really, but he can't help it now that he's started, and his breath hitches up in his throat. 

 

Murasakibara tastes, slow and thorough. He opens his mouth, sliding his tongue forward to taste Akashi from the inside, rumbling deep in his chest when he likes what he finds. Huge hands splay out over Akashi’s back, holding him close, and about as gentle as Murasakibara can manage when he’s worked up like this. 

 

True, most people wouldn’t see his slow, almost lazy movements as someone who’s worked up, but those people don’t see him on a regular day, he thinks. 

 

This isn’t much like kissing Himuro. That’s good, and fun in its own right, but it isn’t _this_. It isn’t the kind of thing that makes him lean in, eyes half-closed, every fiber of his being aware of the other person, knowing it’s even better because it’s someone he, quite frankly, adores.

 

Akashi has been kissed before. He will give himself that much credit. Usually, it's not something he has agreed upon, and it has taken him by surprise. This, however…is different, and very, very good. 

 

Probably, he's melting. That's a feeling that he's not well-accustomed to, but that makes it better, and makes him needier for more. He can't silence the groan that wells up in his throat, though it's still muffled because he refuses to pull away. Murasakibara's hands are huge and warm and squishing himself closer it so, _so_ nice, and with every kiss, Akashi feels himself getting a little bit more lightheaded. 

 

He should probably breathe, at some point. 

 

Akashi's skin feels like it's vibrating when he finally pulls back to suck in a soft, ragged breath, and his teeth score over Murasakibara's lower lip when he does, wanting one last taste on his tongue. "Um," he hears himself stutter, out of breath and _very_ atypical of himself, "so--that should…explain it." 

 

“Does it?” Murasakibara is a little dazed, not entirely confident in his own voice when he speaks. His hands move slowly, rubbing up and down Akashi’s back in a way that he’s always really wanted to, but had known wasn’t _normal_ for two guys who play sports. Or so his siblings had informed him, at least. 

 

“I, uh, still think I’d make a really bad boyfriend,” he feels obligated to point out, brow furrowed at the idea of letting Akashi down again, more at the idea of letting go of something he’s starting to realize he wants an awful lot. “You know a lot of bad stuff about me.”

 

"Well--I don't think I would make a very good boyfriend, either." That _is_ something that he's determined about himself. Self-improvement has a lot to do with realizing one's short-comings, and unfortunately…he has several. This is probably one of them. Akashi shuts his eyes briefly, and lets his head knock forward against Murasakibara's shoulder. "If you don't want to do it, I understand. Especially after…everything."

 

A slow, steady blink, followed by a few more. Akashi, at least, has always understood when Murasakibara needs to take his time thinking something over, instead of answering right away. This is absolutely one of those times.

 

“Hm.”

 

The easiest instinct is to simply ask, _Please tell me what to do, Aka-chin._ That’s what he would have done a year ago, and Akashi would have given him an order in a heartbeat. It’s very tempting to take it out of his hands, to leave the decision somewhere else, and tell himself it’s because Akashi knows more, is better at that kind of thing. 

 

Today, it just feels like that would be a coward’s move. Best to clarify what’s actually going on first.

 

“Aka-chin, are you asking me out?” he asks carefully. “Like to date and stuff?”

 

In spite of himself, Akashi feels his face color. No, he is far more dignified than this, he can _handle this_ without being an embarrassed mess. 

 

Theoretically. It's not like he's ever done it before.

 

"I…well…yes." Thankfully, he is doing this here, not anywhere that his team can spy on him and wave obnoxious banners in the background while cheering him on. He knows that is what they would do. They're all terrible. 

 

“Ahh, okay. I thought you might be.” This is Big, then, and something that he needs to think seriously about. Try as he might, though, his mind just doesn’t always do that on command, preferring to wander a bit, seeking physical sensations to distract him from how annoying this kind of thinking is. “Aka-chin lives far away. And has a wife.”

 

"I don't have a wife," Akashi immediately protests. "I have a fiancé, and I've only talked to her three times ever. She doesn't count, not yet." 

 

The distance is a legitimate problem, however, and he mulls that over. "I don't mind that we live far away, but I understand that it's an issue. It's workable, though; Skype, maybe…and the visits over vacation, like we talked about. We'll be at the same tournaments often as well."

 

Murasakibara perks up a bit at that--which is also something that no one but Akashi would probably be able to notice. “...yeah, that sounds good. I wanna have Skype dates with Aka-chin and visits. So...it’s the same as before? But with kissing?” That’s what makes it dating, he’s pretty sure. The kissing part.

 

"Ah…more or less? I've never dated anyone, you know that." Akashi shrugs lightly. "I'll admit, I didn't think this through. I wanted to wait before bringing any of this up, but your…arrangement…with that friend of yours…I'm not fond of it." 

 

“Why?” The question is curious, rather than defensive. “Muro-chin says it’s just for fun, and he only does it in private. Aka-chin has a better taste, though,” he says quickly, not wanting Akashi to get the wrong idea.

 

"I should hope I do," Akashi mutters, begrudgingly self-conscious and not liking that one bit. "I don't like it because you deserve more than that. Kissing someone that isn't really _interested_ in you isn't a good way to pass the time. Also, I don't know him, so I don't trust him to really keep it private, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." 

 

“Complicated,” Murasakibara complains. All this talk of deserving and privacy and Terrible Things is kind of dramatic, and he really just wants to either kiss or eat snacks. “I’ll stop if Aka-chin wants me all to himself, though.” That’s probably a happy medium. It means he gets no kisses from Himuro, which is unfortunate, but maybe he can get _more_ from Akashi. Murasakibara is a man who knows how to maximize his profits.

 

"Relationships do tend to be complicated, yes," Akashi says with a heave of a sigh, but nods all the same. "Exclusivity is the idea here. I very much want you all to myself. I am jealous and I am possessive and you are welcome to be the same, within reason." 

 

“Okay. Aka-chin, there’s some possessions I want. Mostly candy, but also a new t-shirt.” Murasakibara hopes that’s within reason.

 

"Atsushi. Occasionally, you make me very tired, especially when I _know_ how smart you are and you are very clearly just choosing not to listen."

 

A tiny smile--caught, but not upset about it--tugs at the corner of Murasakibara’s mouth. “You’d like it better if I asked you for candy instead of asking you not to get married, though.”

 

"You're not…wrong." Akashi heaves a defeated sigh at that, and peers up at him with a tiny shrug. "If we don't talk about it, it's easier to forget about it." 

 

“Aka-chin doesn’t forget about stuff, though. Not like I do.” Murasakibara heaves himself up to a sitting position, tugging Akashi onto his lap. “There’s rules, right? You should tell me so I know if I’m breaking them.”

 

"I don't forget about it, but I'm good at ignoring it," Akashi allows, blinking as he's pulled into Murasakibara's lap, but finding it quite comfortable, he settles almost immediately. "There are rules," he agrees, setting his hands neatly upon the other boy's shoulders. "I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone outside of the Generation of Miracles, for starters." 

 

“Do I have to tell everyone inside of it?” It’s a fair question, he thinks. It would be easy to tell someone like Kuroko, for example, but Murasakibara can hardly see himself texting Midorima about his love life. “You just mean it’s okay if they find out, right?”

 

"Right. You don't have to tell any of them, if you don't want to. I probably won't mention it unless it comes up, honestly." Akashi thinks, his head tilting slightly. "Aside from that…kissing in public is obviously not a good idea. Also, we have to agree that this never becomes an issue in matches. Even if we play against one another, we need to remain fair and unbiased."

 

“No one thought it was weird when I didn’t play against Aka-chin last time,” Murasakibara points out. “We can just keep doing that. Rakuzan is probably gonna keep beating Yosen, though. Fair warning.”

 

"I'm aware. Your team is not very good."

 

“Uh...yeah.” No point in being cute about it. Yosen is _not_ very good. “Yours is okay. Teiko was better.”

 

"Rakuzan is very good," Akashi calmly returns. "But Teikou is better, you're correct. I don't want to talk about this, it makes me think about Seirin and I don't like that. More importantly, public hand-holding is acceptable, it's not as if we haven't done that before in the first place." 

 

“That means Aka-chin can still ride on my shoulders, good.” Murasakibara thinks for a few moments, then ventures, “So, no one dates anyone else, but we _can_ marry other people? Is that how it goes?”

 

"It's not like I have a choice in the matter," Akashi points out. "And you won't either, eventually. Well, perhaps you'll be able to get out of it, you're the youngest and have brothers."

 

“Don’t remind me. They’re all really dumb and loud. And they take my food.” The chocolate bar is retrieved, and another chunk promptly munched. “So, does dating mean no one can say no? That’s what Kei-chin says, he says now he’s married Kana-chin can’t say no anymore.”

 

"…Further explanation is required," Akashi warily returns, and habit brings him to wipe away a smudge of chocolate from Murasakibara's cheek. "What am I not allowed to say 'no' to, exactly?"

 

“I _think_ it’s sex.” Murasakibara leans into that hand, then licks the chocolate off of his thumb. Yes, Akashi’s skin improves the flavor considerably. Good to know. “Muro-chin said something like that too. Uh...I think he said he didn’t want to date because he likes turning people down, or something. I forget, that’s probably a wrong memory.”

 

"Doesn't he sound pleasant," Akashi dryly retorts, and opts for sliding his hand slowly back through Murasakibara's hair, relishing the ability to touch it again when it feels like ages without. "Well, I'm certainly not going to say no about something like that unless it's an absolutely ridiculous request. That _is_ the point of dating, to some degree."

 

Murasakibara nearly purrs at the touch to his hair, rubbing his head against that tiny (in comparison to him) hand. “Does Aka-chin have a lot of ridiculous requests?” He’d probably still agree.

 

"I don't think so. If you think anything I ask for is ridiculous, you can tell me." Akashi falls silent for a second, his fingers kneading slowly into Murasakibara's scalp. "Atsushi, you don't have to do everything I tell you to. That's not what this is. Just…so you know." 

 

That, he’s aware, is probably not enough for Akashi. This is highly unfortunate, as Murasakibara is pretty sure he’ll have to do some actual explaining, which he hates. He picks his words, hands sliding down to wrap gently around Akashi’s waist, splaying over his thighs. “I always liked Aka-chin. And stuff like this--it’s not that I’m scared of what you’ll do if I don’t do what you say. It’s...it’s just...” Finally, the words come. “Things go better when I do.”

 

"…Fair enough," Akashi says quietly after a short, thoughtful pause, his fingers not ceasing their slow, methodical work through Murasakibara's hair, and down the back of his neck. He feels his own muscles twitch underneath the splay of the other boy's fingers, and draws in a slow, even breath. "Then--how about this. We'll just act like we always do, and you can do what I say. But if you're honestly not sure about something, or you really do think I'm in the wrong--you can tell me, and I promise I won't get mad."

 

“You’ll probably get mad,” Murasakibara says with a yawn. “But it’ll probably still be okay. We’re not kids anymore. If Aka-chin wanted me to do a lot of weird sex stuff it probably would have happened already. Hmm, mostly I just wanna kiss and eat.”

 

"I usually get mad," Akashi agrees tiredly, sighing and flopping forward against him. Screw it. It's time to sound like an actual sixteen year old boy for a change. "I don't want to do a lot of _weird_ sex stuff, but I'm usually horny, so please consider things beyond kissing on an as needed basis." 

 

“On an...oh. Like whenever we want?” Murasakibara grins slowly. “Yeah, good. Ahhh, but my family will hear if we do anything here, Hika-chin always teases me when I’m noisy at night, even if I put a pillow over my face or do it face-down.”

 

"That is _very_ unfortunate. I was hoping your walls were not that thin." 

 

Murasakibara ponders, which he has a lot more incentive to do when it’s made clear that his options are to think of a place and _have_ sex or to be lazy and have _zero_ sex. “The attic is really quiet,” he muses. “Or Aka-chin could tell Hika-chin and Sara-chin to leave. Do you have money? If I gave them enough to go see a movie they’d do it.”

 

Akashi sits back onto Murasakibara's thighs, thinking. "Isn't that suspicious, though? They'll want to know why. Your siblings _always_ ask too many questions, that's very frustrating."

 

Murasakibara opens his mouth, then shuts it. “I guess we _can’t_ just tell them we want to do it,” he says, annoyed. “Attic? Ah, it’s cold, but we can bring blankets and a space heater...heh, I guess that would be pretty suspicious too. All this thinking makes me hungry, Aka-chin, pass me more snacks.”

 

Akashi flops sideways across Murasakibara's lap, reaching into his bag and pulling out another bag of chips. "Maybe we just need to be _extremely_ quiet when we do it," he mutters thoughtfully. "If I'm in here with you, they might not even suspect it, honestly…especially if we have a movie playing in the background or something like it. I wonder how Shintarou manages it, his parents and sister are always home."

 

“Mido-chin has sex?” The thought is more than startling, it’s vaguely alarming, and blocks out just about everything else Akashi is saying. “Mido-chin won’t take the towels that the second-string hands him because someone else’s hand touched them. Are you sure?”

 

"I'm very sure. He has a boyfriend, don't repeat that information. You know, I'm going to ask him." Akashi reaches for his phone without a second's hesitation. "He'll answer if it's me." 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Question**

**This is not about the last shogi match, do not delete. This is about how you and your boyfriend manage to reliably meet up for sex. Your parents are always home, so ? advice?**

 

“Aka-chin might get some bad words said at him,” Murasakibara remarks, somewhat amused. It isn’t that he’s been _jealous_ of Akashi’s and Midorima’s relationship, per se--but only per se. “Mido-chin says a lot of bad words when he’s scared.”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Answer**

**If such a thing were true which of course it is publicly not I would assure you that an empty locker room and a boyfriend whose family is always traveling work wonders.**

 

"He's not saying anything bad, he knows I already know and there's no point in arguing with that," Akashi airily supplies, and sits back with a disappointed sigh. "Unfortunately, his advice is subpar. That's a shame."

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Unfortunate**

**Winter break doesn't allow for locker rooms and family is always around. Thank you anyway.**

 

"Well, back to square one…I'd suggest even going to my house because of my father's work, but servants talk." Akashi scowls. "I hate that." 

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Obvious**

**Your allowance is enough to rent a mid-sized village. Take her to a fucking hotel.**

 

“We can wait until everyone is asleep and pretend it’s ghosts,” Murasakibara says with a shrug. “I’ll cry loud.”

 

"Ah, now he's cursing. Not cute," Akashi mutters, staring down at his phone in annoyance. "Please don't cry during sex, that would be very awkward for both of us." 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Depraved**

**And also, trackable. Unlike you, I'm well known.**

 

“It would be _fake_ crying, Aka-chin. It’s theater.” Murasakibara’s voice hints that Akashi probably wouldn’t understand.

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Sheltered**

**Pay in cash. Have her make the reservation, unless she’s more Well-Known. Honestly.**

 

Akashi's scowl increases as he huddles around his phone. "Between you and Shintarou right now, I'm going to scream." 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: I am not**

**But you're assuming it's a girl. Therein lies the problem.**

 

“If you scream, they’ll _definitely_ think we’re having sex, and I’m not even getting to do anything. That’s no fair.”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: If you say so**

**If you’re attempting to get me to make you a reservation under a false name with a false ID so that you can simply walk in undetected, please remember I am not your butler.**

 

Akashi _calmly_ reaches into his bag, pulls out another, enormous candy bar, and stuffs it into Murasakibara's grasp without a word. _Shut up_ is the unspoken, but very loud connotation. 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Ugh**

**Honestly, I hadn't even thought of that until now. The assumption that my butler would do that is not only unappreciated but annoying. You underestimate how much my father has cracked down lately.**

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: For the record**

**I am not asking for you to do that so please refrain if you are contemplating a minor act of kindness. This is, unfortunately, not something that can be easily hidden, even with a hotel.**

 

Murasakibara takes the hint, or simply the candy bar, and happily subsides, crunching his way through the tiny crispy bits suspended in chocolate. 

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Ah, Understood**

**Being excessively tall does tend to make one more striking. I assume this is someone from the basketball team (I have my suspicions). May I recommend sunglasses as a classic yet understated disguise?**

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: …………..**

**Re: sunglasses, I was hoping Ryouta was exaggerating about that. Is it really that obvious? Are we that obvious? Is this simply obvious because you know me? How should I revise?**

 

This is a whole can of worms. Akashi feels a tension headache quickly rising. How, _how_ can Midorima _possibly_ be more skilled at this than he is?

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Revisions unnecessary**

**I believe it is simply because I have known you so long in something of an advisory role. Besides, his behavior when you played us was Questionable at best. And I don’t see what’s wrong with sunglasses, classic yet understated.**

 

Oh, good. Then he isn't failing miserably, yet again. That's a relief. Akashi leans over, giving Murasakibara's head a pat just because he can. 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Good**

**I'm not sure what you mean about his behavior being questionable. I thought that he was being very well behaved. Your sunglasses hide nothing of your identity, that is the problem and why Ryouta complains.**

 

Murasakibara rubs his head urgently on Akashi’s hand, letting out a pleased, chocolate-filled little noise. “Aka-chin gives the best head pats.”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Unfortunate**

**I shall add a hat. And he was NOT well behaved. He called you Sei-chan. Unbelievably forward in public.**

 

Akashi's petting pauses, briefly, and his lips curl into a vaguely amused smile. "That's good to know."

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Really**

**Yours calls you Shin-chan. Please, talk to me about being forward.**

 

Fortunately, Murasakibara has never been quick to bore when Akashi runs off to talk to Midorima, text with him for hours, or sit and contemplate a shogi match for the rest of eternity. That is, he’s perfectly happy to sit mute and content as long as there’s enough food. Fortunately, for the moment, there is.

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Irritation**

**Subtlety is a dying art. Anyway. Does he have a car? I assume no one at Rakuzan is lacking for money. Are you sure your father would find out since you’re in Kyoto?**

 

Akashi's left eyebrow ticks upward in increasing amusement, and he continues to slowly pet Murasakibara's hair while texting one-handedly. 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: You're assuming a lot today**

**I'm not in Kyoto right now.**

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Akashi...**

**Is this some extraordinarily roundabout way of asking whether you can use our Western city apartment? It’s empty today if you remember how to get there.**

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Hmmm?**

**That wasn't the end-game but that is highly convenient, how lovely. Because of that offer I'll throw you a bone. It's not Reo. He doesn't date underclassmen.**

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Inconvenient**

**That seems like a poor plan to develop as a 2nd year. As you clearly want me to, I will ask. Who is it?**

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: Well**

**If it isn't obvious, that's a good thing.**

 

"Shintarou has an apartment that we could sneak out to later," Akashi idly offers up, not glancing up from his phone. "But only for tonight. Does that seem rushed?" 

 

Murasakibara shrugs, dislodging a few crumbs, which he brushes onto the floor. “I’m always horny,” he admits. “Is it that secret apartment we used to watch naughty movies at the end of second year? That place was cool.”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Oh honestly**

**Surely you don’t mistrust my discretion after all this time???!!?!?!?**

 

"Probably. Hmm." Akashi drums his fingers lightly against Murasakibara's head. "Well. I would say it was rushed if this were literally our first meeting, but it isn't, and so I'm more inclined to say we should do it."

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: It's not mistrust**

**It's enjoyable to see how long it takes until you start swearing at me. Also you did not text me until I was asleep on my birthday, I am feeling vengeful.**

 

“Even if we didn’t want to bang,” Murasakibara says, thinking, “I wanna be able to watch movies loud and say embarrassing things. Can we go now?”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: PETTY**

**Perhaps you go to sleep too early. Besides, you skipped out on our shogi match that week. It isn’t Kuroko, is it??????**

 

"Ah, all right. We'll bring the snacks, obviously." Akashi swings his legs over the side of the bed, idly kicking them. "Let's say we're going to the conbini and get a taxi from there, I remember the address." 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: How dare you**

**Do you really think I would sully Tetsuya in such a fashion. I am also fairly certain you told me Aquarius and Sagittarius were not compatible. Yes I know I am on the cusp do not lecture me on that again.**

 

“Yeah, good.” Murasakibara stands up and stretches, stuffing a pair of pajamas into the bag of snacks and tossing it over one shoulder. “Except we should tell her we’re gonna go play basketball too. That way she won’t care if we’re gone for a while, _or_ if we come back all sweaty.” Thinking ahead, that’s what he’s doing.

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: precisely**

**This is why I was so worried. Seriously, who is it? Why don’t I get to know?**

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Kise Ryouta**

**Subject: O w O**

**Midorimacchi just asked me if we’re dating????? like u n me??? pls Akashicchi I swear i didn’t tell him anything weird!!!!**

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Momoi Satsuki**

**Subject: ???**

**Akashi-kun, Midorin just offered me a week’s worth of lucky items in exchange for information on your ‘significant other’. I have my women’s intuition~ should I guess? (^=^)**

 

**To: Akashi-kun**

**From: Kuroko Tetsuya**

**Subject: Akashi-kun**

**Midorima-kun thinks we are dating. Please put a stop to this rumor, it's quite frightening.**

 

**To: Akashi**

**From: Aomine Daiki**

**Subject: what the fuck**

**what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck**

 

Midorima is as crafty as ever. What a terrible, disgusting Judas he is. Akashi scowls down at his phone as it starts buzzing uncontrollably with every text, and he finally resigns himself. 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: FINE**

**Call off the hounds. It's Atsushi.**

 

"You're right. Grab a basketball and that will be a sound excuse," Akashi sighs, hopping off of the bed. Honestly, Midorima is far more trouble than he's worth. 

 

A buzzing sounds from Murasakibara’s pocket, and he pulls out his phone, staring at it in confusion. “Aka-chin? I got a _weird_ text from Mido-chin.”

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: I knew it!**

**The key is in the mailbox by the way. Passcode 1741. Just throw any used linens down the laundry chute, the maid will be by this weekend.**

 

**To: Akashi Seijuurou**

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

**Subject: Also**

**Congratulations.**

 

"Delete it, he's being nonsensical today." 

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: You liar**

**You had no idea and that is why you hassled this out of me.**

 

**To: Midorima Shintarou**

**From: Akashi Seijuurou**

**Subject: But**

**Thank you**

 

"Let's go. I am ready to be rebellious." In theory. So long as his father doesn't find out.

 

**~**

 

Midorima’s apartment on the East side of Tokyo, located conveniently for his father’s work interests, though far from his family home. That, Murasakibara remembers hearing a long time ago, is part of what had compelled him to purchase it in the first place. 

 

It’s modest enough, a single bedroom (though well-appointed), a small kitchen, an office, and a living room, with one large bathroom. Everything is immaculately clean, with the scent of industrial products hinting that it probably isn’t the family cleaning up after themselves. 

 

More important, Murasakibara thinks, is to scoop Akashi up in his arms, kissing the side of his neck. “Hmm,” he murmurs, tongue darting out to flick over the skin. “No marks? Even though Aka-chin’s skin is so pale and tasty...”

 

Akashi, sort of vaguely, knows that he's been warned about this kind of thing in a great deal of media. The perfect son, suddenly rebellious and running about for bouts of wild sex or parties or what have you…

 

There's _probably_ a reason so many do it, and if it has anything to do with how good it feels to be picked up like that and kissed so intimately, Akashi sympathizes. 

 

"If clothes can hide it," he breathes contemplatively, his fingers immediately grabbing for Murasakibara's hair to keep his mouth against his skin. "It's winter. Scarves."

 

Murasakibara rumbles his approval, and his kisses turn sloppy, teeth grazing, mouth sucking, lips brushing, tongue laving. One hand wraps around Akashi’s waist, fingers splaying over his belly, stroking the soft skin over hard muscle still there. “I wanna do lots of things to all the parts Aka-chin’s clothes cover,” he murmurs, eyes burning when he pulls back. “Heh...Aka-chin, I feel a little dangerous right now.”

 

That’s probably as much warning as Akashi is going to get. The wheels have clicked into place, and the gears are starting to churn.

 

"Good."

 

Akashi's breath hiccups as he yanks on Murasakibara's hair again, hauling him in for a kiss that's mostly teeth and tongue. That's _so_ much better than it has any right to be. Murasakibara's mouth is hot, and every swipe of tongue makes his breath hitch and his pulse jump, making it hard not to squirm as he's held. "I'm not going to break," he reminds the other boy between kisses, his own eyes bright, overeager. "You don't have to warn me, Atsushi." 

 

“Aka-chin is stronger than he looks,” Murasakibara agrees. His hands dig in, making furrows into soft flesh, dragging over muscles and skin alike. His kiss is hot and intense, enough that he hardly realizes he’s picked Akashi up, holding him at least five inches off the ground to make it easier for them to kiss. “But I’m a lot stronger than that. You’re good at stopping me if I go to far, though...” _Or at least you used to be._

 

"I like that you're a lot stronger than that." So, _so_ much, actually, and Akashi's teeth catch against Murasakibara's lower lip as he thinks about it. "But I'll tell you if it's too much, and you'll listen." There's a finality to those words that Akashi can still place his confidence in, and he bites again, less gently. "Bed?" He has no idea what he's doing, in practice. In theory, he wants bare skin and muscle and weight against him when he's being kissed, and he wants his freshly acquired boyfriend _very_ involved. 

 

Murasakibara nods, and strips his clothes off casually on his way to the bedroom, naked by the time he hits the sheets. He tugs Akashi down to the bed with him, hands sliding up under his shirt, easing it off. “Have you had sex before, Aka-chin?” he asks, hands running over pale flesh in advance of his mouth. Akashi tastes amazing here too, all over his chest, down to his belly, up to his sweet, supple lips.

 

Akashi is quick to aid in getting his own clothes off, the shirt hitting the floor with his help and one hand already snaking down to fumble with his pants. "Ah--no," he admits, not ashamed, more annoyed, because as far as he's been concerned, there have been missed opportunities _. Damn you, too, Mibuchi Reo._ "Have you?" 

 

“Uh...” Murasakibara frowns, thinking. “Not all the way. Is that okay?”

 

His hands curl around Akashi’s waistband, tugging those off, yanking that lovely body close to his own. His hands are less kind now that he can see where they’re going, wrapping around his waist and ass, squeezing and pulling and grabbing when their lips crash together again. His cock is usually slow to get started, but notably, it’s at least halfway erect, something unheard of for him in this amount of time. _Maybe Aka-chin is just that good_. He can’t help but sneak a look downward, licking his lips.

 

"Uh huh," is the kind of dazed, _very_ pleased response that Akashi settles for as he's kissed and grabbed like that, his own hands scrabbling at those broad shoulders and holding on for dear life when he shoves himself closer unabashedly. 

 

This is easy, and fluid, and they work together as well as they ever have on a basketball court, thankfully. Akashi can already hear himself panting, his breath ragged at the edges when he claws his way properly into Murasakibara's lap, groaning against his mouth when his cock, already achingly, desperately hard, rubs against the other boy's. "I do _not_ care what we do right now," Akashi rasps, his eyes very, very bright. "I just like the way you touch me. Like you aren't afraid." 

 

“Aka-chin...”

 

Murasakibara flips them over in a heartbeat, with Akashi on the bed on his back, denting the tightly tucked-in sheet with his slight body weight. Murasakibara pins him there without thinking, without really meaning to, just wanting to have his hands all over Akashi’s skin. He kisses hungrily, down Akashi’s stomach, until his lips and chin brush over soft thick curls. He doesn’t hesitate for a second to take Akashi’s cock into his mouth, letting out an urgent, hungry groan as he sucks him in to the root in one lunge forward, pinning Akashi’s spread knees to the bed.

 

Akashi is very, very glad that they didn't try to do this at Murasakibara's house, because shutting the hell up is easier said than done. 

 

His automatic reaction is to clamp a hand over his mouth, muffling the first, breathy noises that escape, but that's just impossible what with how hot Murasakibara's mouth is, and how hard is cock is, twitching and dripping with every lave of that tongue. He gives up in short order, panting as he throws his head back down onto the bed, and wraps one hand up in Murasakibara's hair, his hips straining to roll up and feel even _more_ , somehow. "A…Atsushi--" 

 

Murasakibara almost pulls off to ask, _What?_ but refrains just in time. Akashi is just saying his name, because it feels good. That’s good, Murasakibara wants it to feel good, but it would be a lie if he said he wasn’t sucking cock because he simply _wants_ to.

 

The taste of Akashi’s cock is nothing like anything else. Well, it’s a _little_ like Himuro’s that one time, but he hadn’t let Murasakibara have free reign, and hadn’t let him do it for long. _“I just get nervous,”_ he’d laughed. _“Because you’re always eating. Here, let me take care of you instead...”_

 

Stupid.

 

He moans at the taste--fascinating, tangy-bitter-sour-salty on his tongue, complex and off-putting while still being intriguing--and buries his nose in coarse hair, wrapping his tongue around the length as he drags his mouth up, then plunges down again immediately.

 

Akashi hears himself whimper, and doesn't particularly care. Oh, there would be at least three dozen people fascinated and eager for this level of blackmail material, and god, but Akashi hopes they eat shit for the remainders of their lives. _That_ is the level of not caring that Murasakibara's mouth brings him to. 

 

The muscles in his thighs tremble and twitch, and clinging to Murasakibara's hair quickly requires too much coordination when he's this hard, this overeager, already this close. His toes curl against the bed, his fingers, too, and Akashi hears an absent thought-- _this soon? really? make it last, at least!_ \--but ignores it in favor of just… _enjoying_. 

 

Murasakibara allows him to be _delightfully_ hedonistic, and there could be so much more of that in his life. 

 

"A…Atsushi--s-sorry, I'm--" That's about as much warning as he manages, because _who knew_ a hot, surprisingly talented mouth was going to be so much better than his own hand. Akashi shudders down to the core when he spills, sagging into the bed, sweat dripping into his eyes when he thinks to open them, and holy _shit_ he feels like he just played a whole game, from start to finish, judging by how every muscle twinges and sings.  

 

Murasakibara swallows Akashi’s entire cock along with his come, only slowly, dazedly letting it slip out of his mouth with a soft wet sound, flopping down onto his belly. He straightens up, wiping his mouth with a finger then licking it, and smiles, lazy and slow, betraying no hint of the sudden ravaging hunger that had taken him over. “Was...was that okay?”

 

"That," is what Akashi eventually manages, still quite out of breath, "was a religious experience. Come here, I need to kiss you." Is that disgusting? He has no idea, he doesn't care, it sort of makes him squirm. 

 

Murasakibara’s hands curl into the sheets on either side of Akashi’s head, and he lowers himself down, sealing their lips in a hot, slick slide of mouths against each other. Akashi tastes good everywhere, something he intends to prove eventually, and even that kiss is enough to make him tingle. “Aka-chin...I wanna do that a lot, okay?”

 

Akashi groans at the words, nods hazily, and lets his fingers splay their way against Murasakibara's shoulders before petting slowly down his spine. "Uh huh. Whenever. Where did you learn--don't tell me, I'll just assume you're a natural." 

 

He shifts, wriggling enough to let one of his legs slide up between Murasakibara's, and--ah. _Well._ "It's even bigger when it's hard," he observes, more amazed than anything. "Does that make you lightheaded? Honest question." 

 

“I get kinda dizzy if it gets all the way hard,” Murasakibara admits. He takes one of Akashi’s hands, then drags it between his own legs, helping him curl it around that long, thick cock. “See, it’s not even all the way right now. I think it’s getting there soon, though. Aka-chin makes it hard really fast.”

 

Akashi exhales a slow, hitching breath, his fingers slowly squeezing. Getting a chance to touch a dick that isn't his own? Check. A very nice one at that, and he has high standards. "Hopefully not too fast, if it makes you dizzy," he says, still more than a little breathless. His fingers drag upwards, his thumb stroking over the very tip, just like he would with his own. "Ahh…Atsushi…at some point, probably not tonight, but at _some point_ , I'm definitely going to want this in me." 

 

“Aka-chin can make me dizzy if he wants,” Murasakibara murmurs, his breath hitching. His hips rut up, rubbing his cock against Akashi’s fingers as his eyes lid. His cock is starting to rise fully, foreskin pulling back from the head, and Akashi’s delicate fingers against the sensitive skin draw out a hiss. “Or whatever. I did what I wanted, your turn.”

 

For once in his life, Akashi did not think this far ahead. To hell with it. This doesn't seem like it requires too much thought, not when just having his hand on that cock is more than enough to make his own breath hitch every single time Murasakibara moves in his grasp. "Do you mind…if it just keep touching you like this?" he asks, feeling the drip of beading liquid over his fingers, smearing that down with his thumb. The skin there is _so_ soft. Akashi's mouth fastens to Murasakibara's throat, sucking over his pulse. "I really like the way you feel," he admits shamelessly. "And the way you feel on top of me." 

 

Murasakibara sighs, letting out the air from his lungs in a long, warm breath. He curls himself around Akashi, nuzzling into his hair as that elegant, slender hand works at his cock. “I like it, too,” he confesses. “Ah, but just so you don’t get bored. If you do it’s okay, you can stop. It takes a while usually.” Which isn’t exactly a _problem_ , but it doesn’t lend itself to quickies very well.

 

"Bored?" People get _bored_ doing this?

 

In all fairness, Murasakibara doesn't _know_ that Akashi's, ah, private sessions, are usually quite related to him. But even still… "You can take all the time you want," he murmurs. "But you should show me how you like it, so I can touch you the way you'll like the most." 

 

Murasakibara nuzzles down, bending enough that he can nibble at the top of Akashi’s ear. He really _does_ taste good everywhere, Murasakibara is pretty sure, and his skin is soft and supple between his teeth. “Hmm...I usually do it facedown on a pillow,” he says slowly, thinking. “While I’m watching tv. Or on the phone.”

 

"…On the _phone?_ " Akashi incredulously manages, a thoroughly distracted shiver sliding up his spine that makes his fingers twitch and squeeze where they're wrapped around Murasakibara's cock. "Let's--pass on that, maybe you can rub it against me instead--"

 

“Hmm?” Murasakibara turns that over in his mind a few times. It’s a lot harder than usual, given that Akashi has a hand on his cock and is _squeezing_ it. “If you lie down there, yeah. Maybe...” He reaches down, grabs Akashi’s ass, and sighs. “Here? Yeah, turn over. Hmm, I just like the way your voice sounds on the phone.”

 

A startled blink is Akashi's initial response before he settles on a simple, breathless, "Ah." _I see._

 

He lurches up, mouthing a kiss to the side of Murasakibara's throat, his teeth scoring lightly over his skin before he releases the hold on his cock with a last squeeze. "If it's me that you're doing that with over the phone," he says as he rolls over, "then it's fine." 

 

Murasakibara scoots to the side, lying on top of Akashi with his entire weight, looking for the right position. His cock slides up over the side of Akashi’s ass, and that makes the breath catch in his throat. “I can’t kiss you like this, Aka-chin,” he murmurs, resting his head to the side, starting to rut slowly against Akashi’s ass. “But you could talk to me. That would be nice. Just tell me if I’m crushing you.”

 

"Y…you're not, don't worry." If anything, the weight is _nice_. Murasakibara is warm and solid and that heaviness makes Akashi squirm more than anything. His cock twitches to life again as his hips shift against the sheets, even if he's still overly-sensitive. "Your cock…feels really good there," he murmurs, tilting his head back, letting it knock back against Murasakibara lightly. "It makes me think about what it would feel like inside." 

 

“That would feel really good to me,” Murasakibara murmurs, cock giving a twitch at that thought. The curve of Akashi’s ass drags against the underside of the head, stimulating him the same way as his pillow used to, and he sighs. “Aka-chin, I don’t think it’s big enough back here for me.”

 

"Mmm…you'd have to take your time." Akashi's breath catches, and he braces his arms better against the bed as he wriggles back, meeting the slide of Murasakibara's cock against him. "But it would feel good. I've thought about it a lot, and I know you'd listen to me while we were doing--so it would be really, really good."

 

“I always listen to you.” The last two words are important to Murasakibara. He doesn’t spend much time listening to anyone else, but Akashi...things have rarely gone wrong when he’s listened to Akashi. 

 

He tries to lean down to kiss Akashi’s hair, but his height just isn’t accommodating it. He grunts in annoyance, hands digging into the sheets, and the shift in position forces his cock to slide up into the cleft of Akashi’s ass. “I heard...you can do it like this,” he says, voice low and husky. “But it sounds like a lot of work.”

 

Akashi's breath hisses out slowly through his teeth, his eyes fluttering as his fingers clench down into the sheets. Just feeling Murasakibara's cock rubbing against him like that is more than enough to make him squirm and shiver, and _think_. Just imagining Murasakibara's cock inside of him, stretching him open wide, leaving him aching and full to the point that it's even hard to breathe--

 

He shudders, and grabs thoughtlessly for one of Murasakibara's arms, clinging to him and loving even the feel of those muscles flexing underneath his fingertips. "It won't be a lot of work, if I'm telling you what to do," he breathlessly groans, another hard shiver dragging through him when he can _feel_ Murasakibara's voice reverberate through him, too. "Just thinking about it makes me want to come again." 

 

“I don’t mind,” Murasakibara murmurs. Powerful muscles flex in his long legs, and his cock grinds down hard, the head of it catching on Akashi’s hole. There’s too much friction, and it slides past even as Murasakibara’s pulse thuds harder. Every slide is slick now, hot and slippery against his cock. “Aka-chin...push up a little--”

 

He grabs Akashi’s hips, yanking them back, and the added friction wrenches a groan from his lips. “Is--that’s okay, right?”

 

Akashi can't help the ragged gasp that pulls from his throat, but he nods rapidly all the same, thankful, actually, that Murasakibara can't see his face right now. It would be far too much for him to be able to see the way his face is flushed so hot that it hurts. "Really good," he huffs out, arching his back to press back, his eyes squeezing shut when he can feel the way Murasakibara drips against him, that sticky, aching friction making every muscle twitch. 

 

 _How close are you_ is something that Akashi would ask, but it doesn't matter, not really, not when he's enjoying this so much. "Atsushi," he murmurs, his head turning to rub against the inside of Murasakibara's arm, "like this--it almost feels like you're fucking me." 

 

Murasakibara sighs, and his hands tighten. “Someday I’m gonna do it for real with someone,” he mutters rebelliously. Nothing he’s done yet is _sex_ , apparently, with anyone. Still, this feels amazing, and he shifts his weight back, giving himself more area to thrust against, the head sliding down to nearly slip out of the cleft before sliding up. 

 

One hand steals down--it isn’t like he needs more than one hand to hold Akashi’s small body up--and covers Akashi’s lovely cock, using a thumb to stroke from base to tip. “Aka-chin is lapping me.”

 

"Is that…a good or a bad thing?" Akashi manages with a stutter of breath. His knees wobble as he shifts and arches to push himself up onto them better, to make it easier to shove back against Murasakibara's cock, and to make it _so_ much easier to squirm into that big hand wrapped around him. "We'll do it--for real--later. Just--like this for now, and we can think about it a lot, and how good it will be--"

 

“It’s gonna be real good,” Murasakibara promises. He starts to pant, hauling Akashi back on every thrust, grinding down hard as he humps harder against him. He starts to say something else, and gives up, hunched over Akashi’s small frame, focusing only on the sweet drag of skin against skin, making him groan and swell. His hands are tight enough to leave bruises, and probably are, but he can’t think, can’t care, can’t stop. His hand curls, pulling on the slender length in his palm with increasingly less refined jerks of his wrist.

 

Akashi tries to think of something else good to say, but gives up just as much, and gives _in_. 

 

Murasakibara grabbing him like that, yanking him around, stroking his cock, grinding his own cock against him--that makes his mind delightfully shut up. Just the weight and shove and slide of Murasakibara against him alone would probably be enough to do that, but it's even better when he's rubbing his cock against his ass, the slick slide of it taking his breath away, especially when it twitches and drips over his skin. 

 

Akashi buries his face down into the back of his own arm, panting low and hard when he spills this time, coming all over those big fingers. His thighs tremble, his knees sliding further apart, and his back bows to a shaky arch, more than pleased about being able to give in like _this_. 

 

Murasakibara shifts back onto his knees when his thigh starts to cramp, haulting Akashi back with him. This is an unfamiliar position, but after a couple of rough missed thrusts, he sort of likes it. “Aka-chin feels so good,” he huffs, only dimly registering that his hand is wet. He gets like that when he’s close, dripping and leaking over everything, the way he’s doing now.

 

His hand turns clumsy, his whole palm rubbing over Akashi’s cock instead of pulling as he starts moving faster, rutting like an animal possessed. “Aka-chin,” he breathes again, voice catching on the words. “T-talk, just a little--it’s almost--”

 

Akashi hears himself breathlessly curse underneath his breath, and blames Midorima for that immediately. He doesn't have a foul mouth, never has, but in instances like this, it seems… _appropriate,_ for once. 

 

"You're…god, you're making a mess, Atsushi." He can _tell_ Murasakibara is close by the way his cock twitches with every breath he hears from the other boy's lips. Akashi squirms away from the touch on his own cock, over-stimulated to the point that it now hurts, which just makes him press back against the hard, thick line of Murasakibara's even more. "I like it," he rasps, twisting his head around, finally get a glimpse of what it looks like to have that cock pressed against him, and his breath hitches. "You can make a mess of me--whenever you want." 

 

For once, Murasakibara doesn’t bother purposely letting the invitation go over his head. He’s focused, intent on seizing the moment, wringing every last drop of pleasure out of it, and he _does_.

 

When he comes, it surges through him like an unstoppable wave, making him grab Akashi’s hips and yank him back, shuddering and whimpering when it takes him over, ripping through him. He squeezes his eyes tightly shut, only registering once he opens them that he’s made a mess of Akashi’s entire back, all the way up to his hair, sticky and slippery in long white ropes. “Aka-chin,” he sighs, thrusts finally stilling as he sags back onto his knees, arms falling to the side.

 

Akashi slowly flops down, his knees giving out with a last wobble. Well, now he _certainly_ feels like a mess…which feels about as satisfying as he thought it would. His muscles are still singing, his nerves twitchy and electrified, and he _does_ love that. "Atsushi," he sighs back, slowly, methodically twisting onto his side, and reaching out a hand for the other boy. "You're perfect, come here." 

 

Murasakibara strategically flops down, curling against Akashi’s front, bending to kiss him thoroughly before slinging an arm around the small of his back. “That was the best,” he says with a yawn, nuzzling into soft red hair. “You have jizz in your hair, though.”

 

"Collateral damage," Akashi dismissively replies, and throws both arms around Murasakibara's neck to keep himself perfectly squished close. "I'll take a shower later. Let me use you as a pillow right now."

 

“I’d be a good body pillow,” Murasakibara agrees, looping a leg around Akashi’s small frame as well as his arms. “Aka-chin can squish me all night.”

 

"You are a good body pillow," Akashi agrees on a sigh, burying his face and contently nestling into place. Yes, this is a _very_ good way to have fixed everything and returned to the place he's wanted to be for quite some time.

 

 

 

 


End file.
